Newcastle have not given up on Johan Manzambi - Report

Aston Villa look to have beaten Newcastle United to the signing of Switzerland international midfielder Johan Manzambi.

Late on Sunday, news broke that the 20-year-old had chosen to sign for Aston Villa, ending Newcastle's hopes of landing their priority midfield target. Or did it?

As the saying goes, 'it's not done until it's done,' and until that contract is signed with Aston Villa, there's still a glimmer of hope for Newcastle.

Due to Villa's financial struggles due to their hefty fines from UEFA, they have to be extra careful not to overspend, and as such, they need to make sure everything is in place before they go ahead with the £49 million acquisition of Manzambi. Although Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne's exits are likely to provide the funds for that.

Is there still hope for Newcastle?

Until then, though, there are those within Newcastle who feel that there's still hope that they can sign Manzambi. 

According to Chris Waugh in the latest Q&A for The Athletic, there are a few people at the club refusing to give up on the deal, while others are being a bit more negative (or realistic).

"On Manzambi, Aston Villa are pushing hard to sign the Switzerland international but, while Newcastle are looking at other midfielders in case they cannot bring in their first choice, not everyone inside the club has entirely ruled out resurrecting the deal (others seem more resigned). There have been doubts throughout the pursuit about Manzambi’s desire to join, given he had never outright committed to the transfer while suggesting he would be open to the move, and evidently he has at least been tempted by the promise of Champions League football at Villa Park."

Let's not kid ourselves

We'd love to have the optimism of those who feel there's life in the deal yet, but sadly, there's just too much going against us here.

As we said, Villa are about to lose Tielemans and Digne, and the money from those deals will pave the way for Manzambi, but more importantly, the player clearly has a preference for Villa with their Champions League qualification.

Also, let's not forget that Manzambi was caught in 4K telling Emi Martinez he's going to Villa on Sunday.

It's definitely time to move on.